Finding Fate
by ImaginationFlow
Summary: After Angela's brother, Kasey, invites her to stay with him in his new home, she experiences things she'd never expect to see from the city. But is she ready to accept the change, or will she return to the city just like before?
1. Hosting Strangers

**Finding Fate**

_Hosting Strangers_

"So, Angela," the Mayor asked casually, "Do you plan to stay here?" He asked.

Angela had debated to herself whether it was the right thing to do, during her whole journey to the island. Her brother had invited her to stay for a while, and get to know the other villagers, but she wasn't sure. Whilst she didn't show it, she knew her mother was more than a little upset that both of her children were a long boat ride away.

She shrugged, swooping down to pick up her suitcases. "Maybe, I'm not exactly sure." She answered, making her way off the beach, with the Mayor attempting to keep up with her fast pace. She'd learnt to do so in the city.

"Ah, well, I see." He nodded. "Isn't young Kasey meeting you here?" He asked questioningly, peering around the beach. Angela almost glared at him; the man was sticking his nose in other people's businesses! But she held herself back; since this was the Mayor she was talking too.

Angela shook her head. "He didn't say he would, so I don't expect it from him." She replied, dragging her suitcase across the sand, and leaving trails where the wheels rolled.

"But do you even know where he lives?" He asked another question, and Angela was so close to throttling him. She could find her brother herself. It was simple enough; she'd just stroll around until she saw a ranch. It wasn't exactly _difficult_.

But if she wanted him off her tail, she'd have to lie. "Yes, I do, actually." She answered bluntly, pulling her luggage up the stairs at the end of the beach. She saw the sad dogface from the Mayor, and she let out an irritated sigh. He even imitated a dog…

"I understand, well, have a safe journey! I hope you'll consider staying," He told her with a disturbingly large smile, before waddling off to the down the path.

Angela smiled to herself, happy she'd rid off him. She set off after the Mayor, on the only path forward, soon realising that the island appeared a lot bigger here, than it did on the map she'd sprawled on her bedroom's carpet back home. She kept her enthusiasm as she looked at her new surroundings though; after all, how hard could it be to find a ranch?

Her stomach rumbled loudly, as she followed yet another path. Her arms ached from dragging all her stuff behind her, and she could tell her hair was dripping with sweat. She was definitely getting a shower at her brother's home. That is, once she _found _it. Kasey had reassured her it was only a few minutes walk to his house from the beach, but right now, she did not trust that.

Angela had walked for at least an hour and a half, and she'd walked past a few houses, mountains of trees, and maybe a bridge. Being honest, she hadn't exactly been paying attention to that though. The ocean looked so much prettier from this island than the city, and the melodic tweets of birds singing had her in a trance. They didn't now, though, because she could begin to feel a cramp coming on.

Right on cue of her moaning, another house popped into view, with a large field, of grazing animals. She sighed in relief, having finally found her brother's ranch. She would have sprinted to the door, if she weren't so exhausted. When she almost reached the door, she took a moment to take in Kasey's achievements. She was pretty amazing he had managed to get such a large ranch running in only two seasons though. She loved her brother, but he was definitely a lazy boy.

She heard the door open, and she turned her head to the building. A woman with short, straight brunette hair, wandered out with a basket held with her arm. Her eyes fell on Angela, and she tilted her head to the side.

Angela was just dazed. Why… was there a girl in her brother's house? Her brother never had bothered with girls before, he had declared, with much stubbornness, if all girls were like herself, then he refused to even bother.

"Excuse me, miss, but are you perhaps Kasey's sister?" The woman asked, closing the gap between them with a few steps.

Angela stared at her curiously, but decided it was best to answer. "Uhm… I am." She replied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," She told Angela with a cheerful smile. "He's been on about you for the last week!" She lifted her hand over her mouth to let out a little giggle. "I'm Renee, by the way." She introduced herself, holding out her free hand.

"Angela." She answered shortly, shaking her hand lightly. She wanted to ask why this woman, Renee, was at her brother's house, but she didn't want to sound rude, seeing as this girl clearly got on with Kasey.

"I know!" Renee giggled again. "Is there a reason why you're here?" She asked after a moment's silence.

Angela raised an eyebrow, wondering what Renee meant. This was her brother's house, where she was staying, didn't that say enough?

"Oh goddess! That sounds really rude…" Renee cheeks began to turn red. "No, what I meant to say was, did Kasey ask for you to buy an animal for him?" She asked Angela, with a gentle smile.

"What? No."

Renee turned redder than before, hanging her head in shame. "O-oh… Did you come to introduce yourself to my parents then?"

"Uhm… no?" Angela shook her head, really puzzled by what Renee was saying. She made it sound like this place was _her _home. "I came to meet my brother…"

Renee peered up, looking just as confused as she was right now. "But why would Kasey be here? He only comes here to buy some of our animals." She questioned Angela's words. Angela didn't understand what was going on. Why would Kasey only go to his home to buy some of his own animals?

"But my brother _lives _here." Angela said, glancing around the ranch. She couldn't see her brother though. "He does, doesn't he?"

Renee stared at her with confusion, and an awkward silence filled the air, as the two girls watched each other. Suddenly, she then let out a big smile. "Oh… I think I understand! You think Kasey lives here, right? But he doesn't: me and my parents, Hanna and Cain, live here. This is Horn Ranch." She explained, letting out a fit of giggles.

It was Angela's turn to blush. She felt the heat creep up her neck, even though she tried to fight it. "O-oh… I get it…" She mumbled an understanding, fiddling with her fingers nervously. Why hadn't she worked it out? Of course her brother didn't have a girl in his house! And she remembered him telling her he grew crops too. There weren't any crops in that field…

"It's alright, to a stranger this island must feel massive. You must have missed Kasey's ranch whilst staring at the ocean. I like to do it too, so don't worry!" She reassured her with a gentle smile. There was a silence, but unlike before, it wasn't awkward. That was, until Angela's stomach rumbled again, like earlier.

"Oh, you must be hungry! Come in, and I'll find some food for you, mother won't mind." She insisted, walking back to the door. Angela watched her with confusion. In the city, you didn't offer strangers food just because they were hungry. She hadn't expected to get food until she got to her brother's. Plus, it felt awkward accepting food from someone you met a few minutes ago.

Renee had opened her door already, and gestured Angela to come over, after she realised she hadn't followed her. "Come on!" She called, whilst Angela grudgingly made her way down the path. If she felt guilty later, she could just get Kasey to give Renee's family some food another time. Because right now, there was no way she'd turn down food.

Renee's food had been delicious, though it did make Angela feel a little jealous. She'd never been very good with food, which she'd reluctantly told Renee when she asked if she liked cooking. The woman had generously offered to give her some lessons in her free time, when her father let her. Hanna had been very polite to her, though she found it hilarious when Renee filled her in their previous conversation. It had been enough to make Angela blush.

However, right now it was about time she made her way to Kasey's house, otherwise he'd worry, she'd informed the family. She thanked them for their time, and their food.

"Cain will give you a lift home, won't you?" She nudged her husband in the rib, which caused him to glare at her momentarily, before turning his eyes to her.

"Sure, sure." He agreed grudgingly. Angela felt bad that the man was being forced to do something for her, especially after she had invaded their afternoon, but she knew if she didn't accept, there'd be a high chance she'd get lost again. And land at another stranger's house.

"Would that be okay?" She asked warily, fiddling with her fingers, her eyes watching Cain. "I don't want to be more of a pain."

Renee shook her head quickly, with a bright smile. "Of course you aren't Angela. A sister of Kasey is a friend of ours!" She insisted, shoving Angela, along with her father towards the door. "Now come on, Dad!"

Cain let out a sigh, but turned his head to her. "It's this way." He informed her, wandering out of the door, and taking in the dark skies that hung over the island. Angela felt the soft breeze as she in turn took a step outside, and trailed behind him. The island looked beautiful with the light outline of the moon and twinkling stars.

"We're going to take the horse and cart, because it's quicker." Cain said, gesturing to the cart, telling her to get inside. Angela lifted a leg to clamber up, sitting on the floor on her knees. As she was standing up, Cain wandered to the front of the cart, climbing on top of the horse.

Angela had never travelled by horse before. Though technically, she still hadn't. It wasn't that she wasn't interested, because she definitely was. It just seemed like in the city, they didn't have time for horse riding, or she didn't have the time in _her _schedule. Which basically was just hanging around with her friends.

"So, you're from the city too?" Cain asked out of the blue, without turning his head. Not that Angela wanted him too, whilst the horse did have eyes of its own, that didn't mean it could tell which way it was meant to go.

Angela nodded, but realised he couldn't see that, and spoke her response. "Yeah… it's not very interesting there."

"I've been there a couple of times, to get some cattle. It's not all that bad."

"Hm… different people like different things." Angela answered to his unexpected reply. She hadn't expected a countryman, such as himself, to compliment the city. She, a city girl, hadn't really liked it herself.

"That's where you'd be right, young lady." He agreed. She felt the cart begin to slow. "We're at your brother's now. I think he's still awake, his light's still on."

"He probably is, he always stayed up late in the city." Angela told Cain with a grateful smile. "Well, thank you for giving me a lift." She said, then waved as he drove the horse and cart off into the distance.

She took a moment to take in her _actual _new home. There were a few patches of crops growing, scattered over the field, whilst there was a barn at the far end. This was more like it, she _knew _her brother couldn't achieve too much in two seasons.

"Angela! Finally!" She jumped in fright, her head twisting behind her. A man that looked like her brother, but slightly different from what she remembered, was running up to her with relief on his face.

He stopped just in front of her, and she took his appearance in. He definitely had a tan, that was undeniable. But that wasn't it. He'd had a haircut, clearly, because his hair was shorter than his head had been last time he was at home.

"Where were you? Hamilton told me you arrived hours ago!" He complained, whacking her shoulder lightly. "You had me really worried…"

Angela raised an eyebrow. "But you didn't go out to look for me?" She asked, crossing her arms. "Thanks, Kas."

Kasey raised his arms up in protest. "Sorry, I forgot…" He mumbled, a little embarrassed with himself. Angela glared at him. He _forgot _she was coming? That was worse than her getting him worried!

"So how did you know I was here?" Angela questioned him, after a moment of thinking.

Kasey bit his lip. "Hamilton came by, to see if you'd settled in yet…"

"Ew, ew, ew! That stalker came _here_?" She groaned, pulling a face. If she could, she'd definitely throttle that Mayor right now. Couldn't he give her some space?

Kasey rolled his eyes. "Angie, you can't say that, he's the Mayor." He told her strictly.

Angela huffed. "If he follows me one more time, Kasey, I _swear_." It was typical that Kasey was on the other side than her. He had always done that as kids just to irritate her. The island had changed his looks, but nothing could change his _personality._

"Fine, fine. _Then _you can throttle him," Kasey chuckled, ruffling her hair with his hand. Angela failed to see anything amusing about what he'd said, but she decided just to leave it. "That's my little sister."

"Hey… shut up."

_**Note: **__Is Kasey the name of the boy in Animal Parade? I wasn't sure, and I did try to find out, but all I came up with was Kasey. And I hope this meets people's personality. I don't actually own Animal Parade, kind of embarrassing, but I really wanted to write a story with these characters. Okay, finally, tell me if you find any mistakes._


	2. Brother's Different

**Finding Fate**

_Brother's Different_

The next morning, she shuffled into the main room with an air of exhaustion. She hadn't made much of an effort to dress herself presentably, so instead she wore simply a light, purple nightie. She didn't catch her brother's questioning stare when she plopped down on his sofa.

"What's up with you?" He asked after he approached her with an apron tied around his neck and waist. If Angela weren't so tired then she'd probably laugh her head off at the sight. Her brother never cooked, as she didn't either, because neither could cook anything decent.

Angela rolled her eyes, "I just had the most uncomfortable night ever." She muttered loudly, crossing her arms, and leaning her head against the armrest. She caught his irritated stare, and couldn't resist but smile.

"Well, this house wasn't built for spoilt little sisters." He retorted, wandering back to the kitchen.

She huffed angrily, sitting back up and glaring at him from over the sofa. "I am **not **spoilt!" She snapped, and caught Kasey smiling to himself as he flipped over what seemed to be a pancake.

"Then why are you complaining? At least I didn't make you sleep on the sofa."

"The _sofa's _more comfier than that bed!" She yelled, but sighed and clambered to her feet. She noticed her brother arch his eyebrow, and glare at her again that morning. "What?" She snapped.

"What are you _wearing_?"

She glanced down, not noticing anything strange. "What are you talking about? I'm wearing my nightie…"

"That's a nightie? It looks more like prostitute's clothes."

"You better take that back!" Angela growled, storming over to her brother. "Mum picked this out for me before I left, so I'd like to see _you _give her _your _opinion on it!" She said, whilst jabbing his chest with her finger.

"Whatever." Kasey mumbled, flipping his pancake onto a plate. When Angela reached forward to take it, he smacked her hand. "What do you think you're doing?"

"…Taking my pancake?"

Kasey rolled his eyes, "But it isn't your pancake, it's _mine_."

"…I don't have a pancake?"

"You will," He told her, handing over the spatula that he'd held in his hand moments ago. "After you make it."

Angela was gobsmacked. Of all the things he could have asked her to do, he had chosen her true weakness. He knew just as well as she did that every time she cooked, she'd burn something, or make some inedible substance. Claire, her friend from the city who'd moved to a farm just like Kasey, had told her she reminded her very much of one of her friends in Mineral Town.

"You're asking me to _cook _something?"

"Uhm… yes?" Kasey agreed, though his face seemed to say, 'oh crap, what have I done now?' He wouldn't back out though, because he never said he was wrong.

Angela took a deep breath. "Right… that's cool. It's just a pancake… right? Shouldn't be _too _hard."

"Right… just how much sugar did you put in this?" Kasey asked warily, poking the sugar coating of the pancake. She had accidently tipped a little bit extra sugar in the mixture bowl, but she'd assumed it wouldn't make any difference.

"Just a little." Angela asked with an innocent smile, whilst grabbing her knife and fork.

Kasey pushed her plate towards her side of the table, pulling a disgusted look. "Hey, it's you who's trying it, anyway, right?" He said, cutting a piece of his own pancake and putting it in his mouth.

After Angela took a few chews of her own, she felt almost like she was about to throw up. It was so sweet; she felt she'd never taste any other food again. Her taste buds were ruined forever. "Ah… I'm not hungry." She sighed, pushing away her plate.

"But you've only had one bite," Her brother stated, but let her waste it anyway when he saw her miserable face. "Just chuck it in the bin over there."

Her eyes watched as her brother slipped on his big brown boots that she'd noticed last night. He glanced up at her and smiled.

"Hey, Kas, where are you going?" She asked, when he reached for the door's handle after slipping on a pair of tattered gloves.

"Onto the farm, obviously. It's my job…" Kasey told her, answering her question. She frowned. What was she meant to do when he worked on his farm? His house wasn't exactly interesting, and she came to the island to get closer to him. "Why don't you meet some of the villagers?" He suggested when he caught sight of her gloomy expression.

"Maybe." She shrugged. She felt there'd be no point, seeing as she wouldn't be staying for very long.

Kasey smiled. "Well, see you." He slipped out of the door, and the house suddenly seemed so empty, and dull. Her eyes fell instantly towards the TV. Back home, she liked to watch soaps, but she doubted any of her favourite ones could be watched from here.

She sighed. Maybe she should visit some of the villagers; after all, it'd be nice to have some friends on this island. She walked over to the coat hanger, and grabbed her jacket, slipping out of the door, after slipping on her pair of trekking boots.

She waved to her brother when she trailed through the farm; he was tending to the crops, making sure they grew well, and gave him a good harvest. Being honest, she didn't know where to start. She would have visited Renee, but she decided it would have been impolite to come to their house twice in two days, especially after what they did for her yesterday.

So, this time she set off on the path to the left, admiring the plants, and ocean like she'd done yesterday. She didn't realise there was a girl strolling down the path was coming right at her, round the courner. Moments later, the two girls crashed into each other, and snapped Angela right out of her trance. Since Angela wasn't small for her age, she wasn't knocked off her feet.

"…Renee?" Angela said with surprise. She had knocked Renee over? That wasn't a good way to meet each other… And she had been carrying a basket full of food as well.

Renee's eyes snapped open. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, Angela! I wasn't looking where I was going!" She apologised quickly, clambering onto her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Of course," Angela assured her, "I wasn't the one who fell over though… Are _you _alright, the question should be."

Renee nodded, with a bright smile. "Yes, yes, I'm fine. Hey, where were you going, by the way?" She asked.

"I was just going to town to meet some of the villagers," She told the farm girl happily, "I thought I could do with some friends here." She explained.

"That's nice… would you like me to come with you?" Renee offered. Angela was surprised that she was happy to offer anything to her at anytime. It was obvious the girl was off to do something, yet she was ready to sacrifice her time to help her. That never happened in the city…

"This is the Ocarina Inn," Renee told Angela with a smile. "I don't spend much time here, but there's a few girls who work here."

"Why? Don't you like it here?" She asked curiously, her eyes concentrated on the building suspiciously. Was it dangerous to walk inside—maybe it was old and might collapse?

Renee blushed. "Uhm… well, it's a bar at night, so I don't like getting caught up in that…" She explained meekly. "Dad likes it here though. That's when he's not working…"

"Oh okay. Let's go inside."

Renee reached forward to open the door, when it swung wide open, almost knocking her right over. A girl with blonde hair tied in two pigtails stared at her with dismay, and a frown. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry, Renee!" She burst out, pulling the girl into a tight hug.

Angela could tell that Renee was majorly uncomfortable, but she didn't feel it was right to prise her off when she didn't know her. So she just stood there awkwardly, until the girl's bright, childish eyes fell on her and her eyebrows shot up.

"Who's that?" She whispered into Renee's ear, though not very quietly.

Renee smiled at her, and her eyes fell on me as well. "She's Angela, Kasey's sister."

"Wow! No way! He has a sister?" She gushed, a wide smile already on her face when she skipped over to Angela's side. "I'm Maya! I work here as the waitress, so you have to pop by!" She insisted, tugging at the girl's jacket, and pulling her over to the door.

"I have to introduce you to some people!" Maya explained, swinging the door open for the second time, with Renee trailing behind quietly. "Hey! Chase!" She yelled when she took a step inside.

A young man with light orange hair came out of the kitchen, with a red apron and sandals, with a miffed frown. "What is it, Maya? I thought you'd gone on your break…" He muttered.

"This is Kasey's sister!" She shoved Angela forward, so she almost bumped into him, but she managed to stop just before. He stared at her with an arched brow.

"I didn't know Kasey had a sister…" He mumbled to himself. "Uhm… I'm Chase?" He offered his name, though more like a question. He held his hand awkwardly, so they could shake hands.

"I'm Angela, it's nice to meet you." She introduced herself, shaking his hand. She turned her head to Maya, who had her head stuck in another door. Renee shrugged gently at her when her eyes fell on her, so she assumed that she didn't know what Maya was doing either.

"Uhm… right. I'm going to go back to the kitchen now…" Chase muttered goodbye, and walked back into the kitchen, where he came from.

Renee and Angela stood in the large room awkwardly, muttering only a few words of small conversation after Chase left. Maya had disappeared into the other room, and they weren't sure if they were meant to leave yet or not.

"Guys! These are my parents!" Maya told the two girls, when she skipped out of that room with two older people. A woman with short brown hair followed after her lively daughter with a gentle smile, and waved at the two girls as they approached. Behind her was a man with greying hair, and he also smiled at Angela and Renee.

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet you," The woman told Angela, who'd just introduced herself as Colleen. "This is my husband, Jake." The man nodded towards them.

"I'm Angela," She told them with a grin. Maya's parents seemed just as nice as Renee's did, which made her feel at ease. Her friend's parents in the city were mean if she did anything wrong.

The five chatted for a few minutes, mostly about Kasey. Renee had quite a lot of input, which surprised Angela, seeing as her brother had only been here for two seasons. How did she know him so well?

"I'm sorry, but me and Angela better get going… We need to meet the other villagers." Renee apologised with a grateful smile. Angela reluctantly took her leave with the girl, waving goodbye when they left through the door.

They had visited all of the villager's houses and shops in Harmonica Town, and therefore, the sky was darkening, as was the time of day slipping away. She'd met some interesting characters, and was thoroughly looking forward to visiting the place again. Not today though…

Angela huffed with exhaustion whilst Renee just smiled sympathetically at her. "How aren't you out of breath?" She complained, holding her hand to her chest to steady her heart.

"Because I'm used to it." She explained without looking at her. The path seemed to go on forever, and they'd been going up it. "You know, you and Kasey are so alike."

"No way, we're not even similar!" Angela argued, puffing out her chest. She hated being compared to her brother, since they were similar ages, only a few years apart, they were always being told they looked the same.

"You both like complaining."

Angela arched an eyebrow. When she thought about it, Renee was remarkably accurate. That _was _something they had in similar, though perhaps it wasn't the best of things. At least she hadn't commented on how they looked the same.

"And you look similar."

Angela sighed. She spoke too soon.

"I can see the farm now…" Renee claimed after the conversation had run to a dead end. Probably because of Angela's angry glares at the floor. "Oh! I can see Kasey working on the farm! Does he always work so hard?" She asked, turning her head to the irritated brunette.

Angela shrugged. "He never used too."

"Oh…"

As they approached the farm, Kasey's head popped up when he heard footsteps. He smiled at Angela, waving his hand. And then he noticed Renee stood along with her, and he quickly turned his head away.

"Hey there, Kas!" Angela called out, with a bright grin.

He lifted his head to glare at her, and shook his head with irritation. "It's Kasey."

Angela lifted her arms in mock surrender. "Jeez, sorry!"

"Hello Kasey, how are you?" Renee asked with a gentle smile. Kasey turned to look at her, and his eyes instantly softened.

"Uhm, yeah, I'm great thanks. A little tired after all this farming, but hard work always pays off… Uh, what about you?" He answered, offering her a wide grin.

Renee smiled again with a faint blush on her cheeks. "I'm feeling alright, thank you." The two stood there, in silence, and Angela took that as a cue to leave.

"Well, I'll be going in to watch some tele!" She said with a bright grin. "See you, Renee!" She said, and headed off to the house.

The moment she got inside, and the door was shut, she peeped through the window curtains. The two stood there, still, awkwardly, until Kasey spoke up. "U-uhm… have you got any plans tonight?"

Was her brother asking a girl on a date? This was a first, and a big surprise.

Renee's cheeks blushed red, and she tilted her head away. "Well, actually, I promised Toby I'd go fishing with him…" She mumbled quietly, fiddling with her thumbs behind her back.

"O-oh…"

"You can come if you want," She added quickly.

Kasey shuffled on the spot, looking a little torn. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of your date…" He explained, looking more than just a little disappointed.

Renee's head shot back up. "Oh goddess! It's not a _date_, Kasey!" She said, "Plus, I want you to come…"

Angela quickly lowered the curtains. She felt that she had invaded her brother's personal business, and quickly plopped herself on the sofa, to watch some tele.

Her brother didn't come back to very late that night. She couldn't help but notice he had a small smile still playing on his lips when he walked through the door though.

"How was tonight?" She asked him with a bright grin. He turned to her looking a little confused, after all, she wasn't meant to know about his 'date' with Renee and Toby. That sounded like he was gay…

"Good, good…" He muttered happily.


End file.
